Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-07-16
THE VAN w1NKLE FABLE.
How the catsk1ll People Look U,

1aG VAN WIN AAG
How the Catsk1ll People Look VI ,
on itas a Verify.
Will Carleton in Toronto Globe.
A mile and Il half zap the road w
came to a frame building two sto, lie
and q half tall. By the side of it wa
a little hut of a saloon.
"Wha is this {" we asked the dri YER
"Trip house," said the driver, pre1 oar
ing to give the eager colonel a dri nix
"Place where Rip Van Wrinkle slept fel
twenty year. You'll see the rock hi
slep' on-just up hack O the no use
thar"
The proprietor of the establishment
now came to the door, and looked so
full of information concerning the affair
that 1 am not ashamed to say that /
went down the next morning on pur-
pose to ask him about it. He is a dark
man, with a large, strong moustache
and q deep convincing voice. He was
already engaged in conversation with a
%sad-looking man from New Jersey, and
I had nothing to do but sip a fifteen.
cent glass Of lemonade and listen.
"Yer see," the proprietor was saying,
"this Van Wrinkle used to live down
here to Catskill. He was constable on
the hunt, an he come up that valley
down there one day, an met a lot of
Dutch fairies, with whisky kegs, aud
offered to help 'em-bem' Of 81 kind
disposition to everybody but his own
folks-an' they gave him a drink, an
he CHM up onto that rock, an slcp'
there twenty year In n nap. Fore he
turned in he hitched his dorg to that
tree thar. AM the tree it growed an it
growed, an when he woke up there was
nothin' left O. the dorg but q bunch O.
bones an a string. An there's the bones
now"
There was certainly some bones hang
ing to the branches of a tree, some ten
or fifteen feet high, where no one could
reach them.
But, excuse me, sir" said the sad
looking man from New Jersey, drawing
an %opera-glass from his pocket, "but-I
|-am-a-butcher, sir, and those look
very much like beef bones to me-"
"Maybe you know more about it than
the history does" said the proprietor,
testify. ri tells itjust as It's told to me-.
If you can improve on it, why go ahead,
that's all.
The sad-looking man improved on it
by buying a cigar, and then said to the
Modified Boniface:
II am a little puzzled over q state
ment hat l have found in this new
guide book, which is to the effect that
MI. Van Wrinkle took his sleep in an
other valley near here" And he
showed him the paragraph.
This seemed to be the first time that
the keeper of Rips w~ell-ventilated bed
room had heard his claims disputed.
His eyes flashed, but he controlled him.
self we'll, and laughed satlrically. He
promptly and heroicall cut the gordian
knot.
"That statements a lie OH the face of
it," he declared "for when We come
right down to a fine pint, he didn't sleep
nowhar. But if he did sleep anywhar,
he slep' here JUS as much as any
place, an I wouldn't wonder if q little
more"
The rock, which is said to have
formed old Rips bedstead, is a snug
little climb from the road. 1t is about
the length of u comfortable couch, and
hundreds of people are said to take a
drink here and then lie down and see
if it makes them drowsy. One nice old
lady discovered Il slight depression, and
pointed it out as probably made by his
head lying there so long. A sober-faced
thoughtful-looking citizen engaged in
distributing equitably some gravel that
had been dumped upon the roadway
did not believe 1t at all.
HE never could lay there twenty
year without no shelter nor nothin' over
him." said the citizen. "Tain't reason
BILE. The snow would smuddcr him.
The wild cats would nibble his ears.
The bars would make u meal out on
him. I've heard this story fur some
time goin' 'roun', an I've concluded
that It's jes' q yarn started hy some
theatre fellow to make money out on.
They're a-actin' on it out, now, down to
Catskill, in a theatre there. It's nothin'
but a madeup yarn"
| told him that 1 had heard that u
man named Irving started the report.
"Wall, l don't know anybody o. that
name 'roun' here" he replied, scraping
the gravel viciously "but whoever
twas he might've been in better bust
| ness"